A SWINDON business which provides eye care to people at home has launched a new partnership to deal with growing demand.

Optometrists around the UK can now join with OutsideClinic to run their own company with help from the business’ support team, who will provide advice on attracting clients and developing the joint venture.

This launch comes as the company urgently looks to recruit more optometrists into the domiciliary sector in response to strong demand for its services.

Its current team of optometrists has delivered a record 85,000 clinics in patients’ homes during the first half of this year.

Demand is reportedly being fuelled by a growing population of people over the age of 65, many of whom are in desperate need of good eye care but are often unable to get to the high street unaided due to physical or mental disabilities.

OutsideClinic’s head office is in Swindon and its workforce visit clients’ homes to provide any necessary eye care without any need for the customers themselves to travel anywhere.

While 460,000 eye tests were conducted in a home environment in 2019/20, making it the fastest growing area of optometry, research suggests that 2.7 million people in the UK would currently benefit from domiciliary eye care.

So, OutsideClinic are seeking to recruit more optometrists in order to ensure those most in need of eye care aren’t left behind.

The introduction of joint venture partnerships builds on the existing employed opportunities the company offers optometrists in a broad range of domiciliary settings, from patients’ homes through to care homes and sheltered accommodation.

Director of strategic partnerships, Paul Chapman-Hatchett, said: “With demand for domiciliary eye care services set to increase significantly over the next 10 years in response to a growing ageing population that’s increasingly likely to suffer from eye conditions, we’re urgently looking to plug the optometrist gap in the sector to ensure that everyone who requires it has access to the often life-changing eye care our clinicians deliver.

“The launch of our joint venture partnerships further strengthens the already broad range of career opportunities we’re able to offer, providing ambitious, committed and patient-centred optometrists with a compelling new opportunity to run their own company, helped by the best support team in the business.”

Optometrists interested in the opportunity should contact Paul Chapman-Hatchett in the first instance on 01793 648683 or email paul.ch@outsideclinic.com.

For more information, visit outsideclinic.co.uk/jvp